L. B. Griffing, born in Sevier County, Arkansas, in 1856, established a leading dry goods, notion, and millinery business in Conway in 1887. He was the eldest of seven children of W. L. and Jerusha (Profis) Griffing. Raised on a farm, L. B. Griffing taught school before entering the mercantile business. After working with Sneed & Co. and later partnering with A. R. Witt, he successfully launched his own enterprise, which grew rapidly. Married to Mary A. Johnson in 1882, Griffing was active in the Methodist Episcopal Church and the K. of P. His store became a top destination for dress goods in Faulkner County.
L. B. Griffing, proprietor of the representative dry goods, notion, and millinery house of Conway, first established his business here in 1887 and carries one of the largest and most complete stocks of dress goods in Faulkner County. He was born in Sevier County, Ark., in 1856, and was the oldest in a family of seven children born to W. L. and Jerusha (Profis) Griffing, of Mississippi and Arkansas, respectively. The father first came to the latter state in the year 1831 and settled in Sevier County with his parents. He was only four years of age at that time and was reared and remained in that county until his marriage. During the war, he enlisted in the Confederate army and served gallantly in an Arkansas regiment. In 1866 he removed to Texas, where he remained for two years, and in 1868 returned to Mississippi, but in 1871 came back to Arkansas and settled in Franklin County, which he made his permanent home. He purchased a large plantation and turned his attention entirely to its cultivation, and some years afterward was known as one of the most successful planters in his county. Both parents are yet living and enjoying life at a mellow age.
L. B. Griffing was reared on a farm and attended school in Logan County, where he acquired a perfect mastery of the English branches. After completing his studies, he taught school himself for several terms and next accepted a position with one of the business houses of Webb City, Franklin County. From there he moved to Conway, in March 1881, and again entered mercantile life, being employed by the firm of Sneed & Co., with whom he remained two years. After severing his connection with this house, he embarked in the general merchandise business himself, with a Mr. Witt as partner, under the firm name of Griffing & Witt. This remained unchanged for two years, but at the end of that period, Mr. Witt withdrew and Mr. Griffing carried on the business alone until the year 1886 when he branched off into hotel-keeping. The following year, in a partnership with Mr. A. R. Witt, he formed the firm of Griffing & Witt (drugs), and in the spring of 1888, he established his present business.
Mr. Griffing’s patronage has rapidly increased, and now it can be said that he is considered among the very foremost in that business in Faulkner County. He carries a heavy stock in dress goods, millinery, and, in fact, everything that pleases the feminine mind, and his business is growing largely. He is not an active politician, but his sympathies are with and he votes the Democratic ticket. He is a member of Woodland Lodge No. 11, K. of P., and was initiated a member of that order in 1881. In 1882 he was married in Conway to Mrs. Mary A. Johnson, daughter of J. E. Martin, a prominent citizen of that city. This union gave them three children: Floyd M., Louis D., and Effie L. Mr. and Mrs. Griffing are both members of the Methodist Episcopal Church, and the former takes a deep interest in religious and educational matters. He is a keen observer of mankind and events and has watched with a practiced eye the progress of Faulkner County from the first day of his arrival to the present. He is one of Conway’s most enterprising citizens and a liberal contributor to any public or private affair for the county’s development.